Surveillance device

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a device. The device includes a first camera which is rotatable around a first axis and a second camera which is rotatable around a second axis. The first axis is in a direction of the second axis.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/831,930, filed on Mar. 27, 2020, which is a Continuation ofInternational Application No. PCT/CN2018/107355, filed on Sep. 25, 2018,which claims priority to Chinese Application No. 201721254781.2, filedon Sep. 27, 2017, Chinese Application No. 201721755337.9, filed on Dec.15, 2017, and Chinese Application No. 201721756732.9, filed on Dec. 15,2017, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to surveillance devices and in particularto surveillance devices that include cameras.

BACKGROUND

A surveillance device such as a video monitoring device may be used tomonitor certain areas. For example, a surveillance device with a cameramay be often used in a parking lot management system to monitor parkingspaces in a parking lot. However, this device may be expensive and canbe vulnerable to vandalism. Furthermore, an existing parking lotmanagement device mainly use video images of a parking space in aparking lot to determine the corresponding parking space state (e.g.,whether the parking space is occupied). However, the camera may be of arelatively poor quality in a relatively weak ambient light, resulting ina relatively inaccurate determination of the parking space state.Accordingly, for addressing such issues, it may be desirable to providea device and a method for monitoring a parking space.

SUMMARY

A first aspect of the present disclosure relates a device comprising asupport bar, a mounting housing mounted with a camera lens, and aconnector configured to connect the support bar to the mounting housing.The mounting housing is integrally rotatable with the connector withrespect to the support bar.

In some embodiments, the support bar forms a plurality of engaging holesthereon, the connector forms an engaging means therein which is engagedwith at least one of the engaging holes through an engaging mechanism.

In some embodiments, the plurality of engaging holes are arranged in acircumferential direction of the support bar.

In some embodiments, the plurality of engaging holes include a pluralityof thread holes, and the engaging mechanism includes at least onethrough-hole.

In some embodiments, the engaging mechanism includes a bolt engaging thethrough-hole with the at least one of the threaded holes.

In some embodiments, the through-hole is a strip-type hole, and whereinwhen engaged with at least one of the threaded holes, the strip-typehole extends in a circumferential direction of the support bar.

In some embodiments, the plurality of threaded holes are arrangedrespectively on the support bar in a circumferential direction at acertain interval.

In some embodiments, the mounting housing is further mounted with anultrasonic probe and a lightening device.

In some embodiments, the ultrasonic probe is configured to monitor apredefined change, and the camera lens and the lightening device iscontrolled at least by the monitored change.

A second aspect of the present disclosure relates a device comprising anultrasonic probe, a lightening device, and a support bar configured tosupport the ultrasonic probe and the lightening device.

In some embodiments, the device further includes a mounting housingwhich is supported by the support bar and mounted with the ultrasonicprobe and the lightening device.

In some embodiments, the mounting housing may include a front housing, arear housing, and a seal diaphragm arranged between the front housingand the rear housing.

In some embodiments, the device may further include a first seal washerarranged between the front housing and the seal diaphragm.

In some embodiments, the device may further include a second seal washerarranged between the seal diaphragm and the rear housing.

A third aspect of the present disclosure relates a device comprising acamera housing which forms an opening on a side wall of the camerahousing, and a camera lens in the camera housing and facing the openingof the camera housing.

In some embodiments, the opening is covered by a window.

In some embodiments, at least part of the window is transparent.

In some embodiments, the window is configured to allow access to theopening.

In some embodiments, the side wall is mounted with a sliding rail, andthe window is slidably mounted on the side wall of the camera housingalong the sliding rail.

A fourth aspect of the present disclosure relates to a device comprisinga first camera which is rotatable around a first axis and a secondcamera which is rotatable around a second axis, wherein the first axisis in a direction of the second axis.

In some embodiments, the first axis is parallel to the second axis.

In some embodiments, the first axis is the same as the second axis.

In some embodiments, the first camera and the second camera arerespectively rotatable around the first axis.

In some embodiments, the first camera has a first camera housing and afirst lens assembly arranged in the first camera housing. The secondcamera has a second camera housing and a second lens assembly arrangedin the second camera housing. At least one of the first camera housingor the second camera housing includes a window.

In some embodiments, the first camera and the second camera areinterconnected through a connecting module. The connecting module mayinclude a switching board with an opening thereon and a switching shaftcomprising a shaft component and a disc component connected to the shaftcomponent. The shaft component goes through the opening, and the shaftcomponent is rotatable with respect to the switching board around anaxis of the shaft component.

In some embodiments, the first camera is fixedly connected with theshaft component of the switching shaft, and the second camera is fixedlyconnected with the switching board.

In a further aspect according to the present disclosure, a camera isprovided. The camera includes a housing and a camera lens assembly. Thehousing is cylindrical and has an opening on the wall of the cylinder.The camera lens assembly is installed in the camera housing and disposedfacing a window of the camera housing.

In some embodiments, the camera lens assembly is disposed in thecylindrical camera housing, and the camera housing may protect thecamera lens assembly. Moreover, a window is provided on the wall of thecamera housing. The camera lens assembly faces the window setting. Thelens component may perform monitoring and shoot through the window, andthe lens angle may be adjusted through the window. Therefore, the lensangle adjustment process, as well as the assembly process of the camerais relatively convenient.

In some embodiments, the camera further includes: an indicator boardarranged on the bottom wall of the camera, wherein an indicator light ismounted on the side of the indicator board facing away from the housingof the camera.

In some embodiments, the camera further includes an indicator coverdisposed on the side of the indicator plate facing away from the camerahousing.

In some embodiments, in each camera, a lens window (or simply referredto as a window) that may open and close the opening is mounted on thehousing wall of the camera, and the material of the lens window istransparent.

In some embodiments, the lens window is slidable along a wall of thecamera housing to enable opening or closing of the window.

In some embodiments, the camera housing is provided with a sliding railextending along a circumferential direction of the cylinder wall. Thelens window is slidably mounted to the camera housing along the slidingrail.

In some embodiments, when the lens window slides to the first end of thesliding rail, the lens window completely closes the opening. When thelens window slides to the second end of the sliding rail, the lenswindow completely opens the opening.

In some embodiments, a hook is disposed on the inner side of the slidingrail. The lens window is provided with a grooved portion to be engagedwith the hook. When the lens window slides to the first end of thesliding rail, the hook is engaged with the grooved portion.

In some embodiments, the lens window is further provided with a leadingplane for guiding the hook into the grooved portion, and the leadingplane is located at a side of the grooved portion facing the first endof the sliding rail.

In some embodiments, an elastic arm is provided on the inner side of thesliding rail, and the elastic arm is disposed along an extensiondirection of the sliding rail. The hook is disposed at the end of theelastic arm facing the first end of the sliding rail.

In some embodiments, the hook is disposed at the first end of thesliding rail.

In some embodiments, the camera further includes a supporting structurefor the lens assembly. For example, the camera further includes a fixingframe of the camera lens assembly. The fixing frame of the camera lensassembly is fixedly mounted on a bottom wall of the camera housing. Thecamera lens assembly is mounted on the fixing frame of the camera lensassembly.

In some embodiments, the camera lens assembly is spherical. The fixingframe of the camera lens assembly is provided with a spherical cavitymatched with the camera lens assembly. The camera lens assembly isrollably mounted within the spherical cavity with respective to thespherical cavity.

In some embodiments, the inner side of the spherical cavity is coveredwith a damping structure.

In some embodiments, the indicator cover includes an indicator boardframe mounted on the bottom wall of the housing and a translucent covermounted on the indicator board frame. The transparent cover is made ofthe hemispherical uniform material.

A multi-directional camera comprising: at least two camera modules, eachof the at least two camera modules including a housing and a camera lensassembly mounted in the housing, wherein the housing is cylindrical andhas an opening on the wall of the cylinder. The shaft axis of the atleast two housings of the at least two camera modules coincide with eachother. The at least two camera modules are sequentially arranged alongthe direction of the shaft axis, and any two adjacent camera modules areare respectively rotatable around the shaft axis. As used herein, thefirst camera module may be referred to as a first camera. The secondcamera module may be referred to a second camera. The housing and thecamera lens assembly of the first camera module may be referred to as afirst camera housing and a first lens assembly, respectively. Likewise,the housing and the camera lens assembly of the second camera module maybe referred to as a second camera housing and a second lens assembly,respectively. The shaft axis of a camera module housing may simply bereferred to as the shaft axis of the camera (e.g., the first camera, orthe second camera).

The multi-directional camera described above includes at least twocamera modules. In the multi-directional camera, at least two cameramodules are sequentially arranged along the axis direction of thehousing and are rotatably connected about the shaft axis. Therefore, therelative rotation between the plurality of lens assemblies in thehorizontal direction (i.e., perpendicular to the direction of the shaftaxis) can be adjusted by driving relative rotation between the cameramodules. Moreover, since the housing of each camera module has acylindrical shape and an opening is mounted on the cylinder wall. Theshooting angle of the camera lens assembly can be further adjustedthrough the opening.

In summary, the multi-directional camera provided according to someembodiments of the present disclosure can relatively rotate the cameramodule in the horizontal direction, which performs the angle adjustmentof each camera lens assembly in the horizontal direction. On the otherhand, the camera lens assembly can be directly adjusted in thehorizontal (i.e., perpendicular to the axis direction) and/or thevertical direction (e.g., parallel to the direction of the shaft axis)through the opening on the housing. Therefore, the lens angle adjustmentrange of the multi-directional camera is extensive, and the adjustmentprocess does not require tools, which is very convenient. Furthermore,the multi-directional camera can be used for parking space detection,and can well meet the monitoring requirements of different parking spacescenes.

In some embodiments, any adjacent two camera modules are connected by aswitching module (or referred to as a connecting module). The switchingmodule includes: an adapter plate (or referred to as a switching board)having an opening. Moreover, a switching shaft provided with a shaftcomponent and a disc component is connected to the first end of theshaft component, the shaft component penetrating through the opening ofthe adapter plate. The diameter of the disc component is larger than thediameter of the opening of the adapter plate. The switching shaft isrotatable relative to the adapter plate about an axis of the shaftcomponent.

In some embodiments, a side of the adapter plate facing toward the disccomponent is mounted with a hook. A side of the disc component facingaway from the adapter plate is formed with a grooved portion to beengaged with the hook.

In some embodiments, the grooved portion is a ring groove arranged alonga peripheral of the disc component. The adapter plate is provided with aplurality of the hooks, and the plurality of hooks are evenlydistributed along the peripheral of the disc component.

In some embodiments, a damping strip is arranged between the disccomponent and the adapter plate.

In some embodiments, a side of the disc component facing the adapterplate is provided with a plurality of strip-shaped mounting groovessurrounding the shaft component, and the damping strip is mounted in themounting groove.

In some embodiments, in any two adjacent camera modules, the cameramodule near the top side of the at least two camera modules is a firstcamera module. Moreover, the camera near the bottom side of the at leasttwo camera modules is a second camera module. The housing of the firstcamera module is fixedly connected with the shaft component of theswitching shaft. The housing of the second camera module is fixedlyconnected with the adapter plate.

In some embodiments, the second end of the shaft component is providedwith a mounting hole. The housing of the first camera module and theshaft component are fixedly connected by a fixing component insertedinto the mounting hole.

In some embodiments, the adapter plate is provided with a through-hole,and the housing and the adapter plate of the second camera module arefixedly connected by a fixing component inserted into the through-hole.

In some embodiments, the adapter plate is provided with aposition-limiting mechanism toward a side of the first camera module.The housing of the first camera module is arranged toward a side of theadapter plate and a fastener is corresponding to the position limitingmechanism. The position-limiting mechanism and the fastener may bemutually constrained or blocked when the first camera module and theadapter plate are relatively rotated.

In some embodiments, the multi-directional camera further includes: anindicator board mounted on the side of a bottom end of the at least twocamera modules, wherein an indicator light is mounted on the indicatorboard. An indicator board frame arranged on the side of the indicatorboard facing away from the at least two camera modules. An indicatortransparent cover mounted on the indicator board frame.

In some embodiments, the indicator board frame is mounted on a housingof the bottommost camera module, and the indicator board frame connectswith the housing of the bottommost camera module by the buckle.

In some embodiments, the indicator light transparent cover connects withthe indicator board frame by the buckle.

In some embodiments, in each camera module, a lens window that can openand close the opening is mounted on the housing, and the material of thelens window is transparent.

In some embodiments, the cylinder wall of the housing is provided with asliding rail extending along a circumferential direction thereof. Thelens window is slidable along the slide rail to achieve opening andclosing of the opening.

In some embodiments, the camera module further includes a fixing frameof the camera lens assembly. The fixing frame of the camera lensassembly is fixedly mounted on a bottom wall of the housing of thecamera module. The camera lens assembly is mounted on the fixing frameof the camera lens assembly.

In some embodiments, the camera lens assembly is spherical. The fixingframe of the camera lens assembly is provided with a spherical cavitymatched with the camera lens assembly. The camera lens assembly isrollably mounted within the spherical cavity relative to the sphericalcavity.

In some embodiments, the inner side of the spherical cavity is coveredwith a damping structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is further described in terms of exemplaryembodiments. These exemplary embodiments are described in detail withreference to the drawings. These embodiments are non-limiting exemplaryembodiments, in which like reference numerals represent similarstructures throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a structure diagram illustrating a first side of asurveillance device according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a structure diagram illustrating a second side of asurveillance device according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 is a structure diagram illustrating the installation of amounting housing on a support bar according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a structure diagram illustrating a support bar according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a structure diagram illustrating a support bar and a connectoraccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a structure diagram illustrating a connector according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is structure diagram illustrating a camera in the prior art;

FIG. 8 is a structure diagram illustrating a camera according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a structure diagram illustrating a camera in a first stateaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a structure diagram illustrating a camera in a second stateaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a structure diagram illustrating a camera housing, a cameralens assembly, and a fixing frame of the camera lens assembly in acamera according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a structure diagram illustrating the camera lens assembly ofa camera according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a structure diagram illustrating a fixing frame of the cameralens assembly of a camera according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 14 is a structure diagram illustrating a camera housing, a slidingrail, and a lens window in a camera according to some embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 15 is a structure diagram illustrating a sliding rail of a cameraaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a structure diagram illustrating a sliding rail being engagedwith a lens window in a camera according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a structure diagram illustrating a sliding rail being engagedwith a lens window in a camera according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a structure diagram illustrating a binocular parking spacedetector in the prior art;

FIG. 19 is a structure diagram illustrating a multi-directional cameraaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a structure diagram illustrating a multi-directional cameraaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a structure diagram illustrating a switching module of amulti-directional camera according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 22 is a structure diagram illustrating a front side of an adapterplate of a multi-directional camera according to some embodiments of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a structure diagram illustrating side of an adapter plate ofa multi-directional camera according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 24 is a structure diagram illustrating a switching shaft of amulti-directional camera according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 25 is a structure diagram illustrating a connection of a firstcamera module and a switching module in a multi-directional cameraaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 26 is a structure diagram illustrating a first camera module and asecond camera module connected by a switching module in a multi-aspectcamera according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 27 is a structure diagram illustrating a camera module in amulti-directional camera according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 28 is a structure diagram illustrating a camera module in amulti-directional camera according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth by way of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding ofthe relevant disclosure. However, it should be apparent to those skilledin the art that the present disclosure may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, systems,components, and/or circuitry have been described at a relativelyhigh-level, without detail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuringaspects of the present disclosure. Various modifications to thedisclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in theart, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to otherembodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not limitedto the embodiments shown, but to be accorded the widest scope consistentwith the claims.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexample embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As usedherein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” may be intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprise”,“comprises”, and/or “comprising”, “include”, “includes”, and/or“including”, when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

It will be understood that the term “system,” “unit,” “module,” and/or“block” used herein are one method to distinguish different components,elements, parts, section or assembly of different level in ascendingorder. However, the terms may be displaced by another expression if theyachieve the same purpose.

The modules (or units, blocks, units) described in the presentdisclosure may be implemented as software and/or hardware modules andmay be stored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium orother storage device. In some embodiments, a software module may becompiled and linked into an executable program. It will be appreciatedthat software modules can be callable from other modules or fromthemselves, and/or can be invoked in response to detected events orinterrupts. Software modules configured for execution on computingdevices can be provided on a computer readable medium, such as a compactdisc, a digital video disc, a flash drive, a magnetic disc, or any othertangible medium, or as a digital download (and can be originally storedin a compressed or installable format that requires installation,decompression, or decryption prior to execution). Such software code canbe stored, partially or fully, on a memory device of the executingcomputing device, for execution by the computing device. Softwareinstructions can be embedded in a firmware, such as an EPROM. It will befurther appreciated that hardware modules (e.g., circuits) can beincluded of connected or coupled logic units, such as gates andflip-flops, and/or can be included of programmable units, such asprogrammable gate arrays or processors. The modules or computing devicefunctionality described herein are preferably implemented as hardwaremodules, but can be software modules as well. In general, the modulesdescribed herein refer to logical modules that can be combined withother modules or divided into units despite their physical organizationor storage.

Generally, the word “module,” “sub-module,” “unit,” or “block,” as usedherein, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to acollection of software instructions. A module, a unit, or a blockdescribed herein may be implemented as software and/or hardware and maybe stored in any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium oranother storage device. In some embodiments, a softwaremodule/unit/block may be compiled and linked into an executable program.It will be appreciated that software modules can be callable from othermodules/units/blocks or from themselves, and/or may be invoked inresponse to detected events or interrupts.

Software modules/units/blocks configured for execution on computingdevices may be provided on a computer-readable medium, such as a compactdisc, a digital video disc, a flash drive, a magnetic disc, or any othertangible medium, or as a digital download (and can be originally storedin a compressed or installable format that needs installation,decompression, or decryption prior to execution). Such software code maybe stored, partially or fully, on a storage device of the executingcomputing device, for execution by the computing device. Softwareinstructions may be embedded in a firmware, such as an EPROM. It will befurther appreciated that hardware modules/units/blocks may be includedin connected logic components, such as gates and flip-flops, and/or canbe included of programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays orprocessors. The modules/units/blocks or computing device functionalitydescribed herein may be implemented as software modules/units/blocks,but may be represented in hardware or firmware. In general, themodules/units/blocks described herein refer to logicalmodules/units/blocks that may be combined with othermodules/units/blocks or divided into sub-modules/sub-units/sub-blocksdespite their physical organization or storage. The description may beapplicable to a system, an engine, or a portion thereof.

It will be understood that when a unit, engine, module or block isreferred to as being “on,” “connected to,” or “coupled to,” anotherunit, engine, module, or block, it may be directly on, connected orcoupled to, or communicate with the other unit, engine, module, orblock, or an intervening unit, engine, module, or block may be present,unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term“and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of theassociated listed items.

These and other features, and characteristics of the present disclosure,as well as the methods of operation and functions of the relatedelements of structure and the combination of parts and economies ofmanufacture, may become more apparent upon consideration of thefollowing description with reference to the accompanying drawings, allof which form a part of this disclosure. It is to be expresslyunderstood, however, that the drawings are for the purpose ofillustration and description only and are not intended to limit thescope of the present disclosure.

An aspect of the present disclosure may provide a surveillance device toimprove the accuracy of the intelligent parking lot management systemfor monitoring the parking space state, and improve the workingefficiency of the surveillance device. The surveillance device mayinclude a connector, a support bar, and a mounting housing mounted witha camera lens. The mounting housing is integrally rotatable with theconnector with respect to the support bar. Thus, the facing angle of thecamera lens may be adjusted in a comparatively convenient manner byadjusting the relative position of the connector and the support bar.Furthermore, the mounting housing may be mounted with an ultrasonicprobe configured to detect a change of the occupation state of theparking space it is monitoring, and a supplement light to light up theparking space when the camera lens is working, allowing a more accuratedetermination of the occupation state of the parking state when theambient light is relatively weak. Another aspect of the presentdisclosure may provide a camera with an opening formed in its housing.The facing angle of the camera lens located inside the housing may beadjusted in a relatively convenient manner through the opening. Afurther aspect of the present disclosure may provide a camera with afirst camera module and a second camera module. The housings of the twocamera modules share a same shaft axis, around which the two cameramodules are respectively rotatable. Such a structure may allow thecamera to monitor areas in different directions simultaneously.

1: support bar, 11: threaded hole, 2: mounting housing, 21: frontmounting housing, 22: rear mounting housing, 23: seal diaphragm, 231:cable tie, 3: connector, 31: through-hole, 32: screw mounting hole, 4:camera lens, 5: supplement light, 6: ultrasonic probe, 7: indicator, 8:mount, 81: mounting through-hole 10: camera cover; 120: camera housing;1120: bottom wall; 20: transparent ring; 220: camera lens assembly; 30:transparent housing fixing base; 320: indicator board frame; 40: cameralens assembly; 420: transparent cover; 50: transparent lens housing;520: lens window; 51: hook; 52: leading plane; 620: sliding rail; 61:first end of the sliding rail; 62: second end of the sliding rail; 63:grooved portion; 64: elastic arm; 720: lens assembly holder; 71:spherical cavity; 8120: bolt; 82: bolt; 91: fixing portion; 1030: cameracover; 130: camera module; 1130: housing; 13: lens window; 12: cameralens assembly; 111: bottom wall; 112: stopper; 14: fixing frame; 141:spherical cavity; 2030: transparent indicator ring; 230: adapter plate;2130: opening; 2230: hook; 2330: through hole; 2430: limiting structure;3030: transparent housing fixing base; 330: switching shaft; 31:through-hole; 32: screw mounting; hole; 4030: camera lens assembly; 430:damping strip; 311: mounting hole 321: ring groove; 322: mountinggroove; 5030: transparent housing; 530: camera cover; 5130: fixingportion; 630: mounting plate; 730: indicator board; 6130: fixing nut;830: indicator board frame; 930: transparent indicator cover.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a surveillance deviceto improve the accuracy of an intelligent parking lot managementsystem's determination of a parking space state, and with an improvedefficiency.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 5, a surveillance devicemay include a support bar 1, a mounting housing 2 and a connector 3 forconnecting the support bar 1 and the mounting housing 2. In someembodiments, the connector 3 may be fixed to the mounting housing 2. Insome embodiments, the connector 3 may be connected with the support bar1 through one more screws fitting into one or more threaded holes 11 inan end of the support bar 1. The mounting housing 2 may be integrallyrotatable with the connector 3 with respect to the support bar 1.

In some embodiments, a plurality of threaded holes 11 may be evenlydistributed on one end of the support bar 1 in the circumferentialdirection. That is, the plurality of threaded holes 11 are arrangedaround the support bar 1 with a fixed interval between every twothreaded holes. In some embodiments, the facing direction of themounting housing 2 may be adjusted to variable directions. The angledifferences between every two adjacent directions may be of the sameinterval.

The mounting housing 2 may be located at one end of the support bar 1.The side of the support bar 1 that is close to the mounting housing 2forms the plurality of threaded holes 11 thereon in the circumferentialdirection of the support bar 1. The connector 3 has at least onethrough-hole 31 facing at least one of the threaded holes

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the through-hole 31 may be a strip-typehole. When the connector 3 is mounted to the support bar 1, thestrip-type hole extends along the circumferential direction of thesupport bar 1. When installing the connector 3, the strip-type hole maybe engaged with the corresponding threaded hole 11 through an engagingmechanism, such as a screw, a bolt, or the like, or any combinationthereof. For example, an engaging mechanism may pass through thestrip-type hole and a threaded hole 11 successively, connecting thestrip-type hole and the threaded hole 11. One may adjust the relativeposition of the strip-type hole and the corresponding threaded hole 11before tighten the screw, in order to achieve a fine adjustment of thefacing angle of the mounting housing 2 and the facing direction cameralens 4.

In some embodiments, the strip-type hole may face two or more threadedholes 11 in the support bar 1, and the connector 3 may be fixed to thetwo or more threaded holes 11 by two or more screws, which may improvethe mounting stability thereof.

The mounting housing 2 may be mounted with an ultrasonic probe 6 fordetecting whether a vehicle is entering or leaving the parking space ornot. When the ultrasonic probe 6 detects that there may be a vehicleentering or leaving the parking space, the camera lens 4 and thesupplement light 5 may be switched on. In some embodiments, theultrasonic probe 6, the camera lens 4, and/or the supplement light 5 (orreferred to as a lightening device) may connect to a controller. In someembodiments, the controller connected to the ultrasonic probe 6, thecamera lens 4, and/or the supplement light 5 may be not specificallylimited. For example, in some embodiments, the surveillance device mayinclude at least one camera for monitoring vehicles in a parking space.The controller may be a chip installed in the at least one camera, ormay be a control platform connected to the at least one camera. Theultrasonic probe 6 may scan a certain position of the parking space.When the ultrasonic probe 6 detects that a vehicle is entering orleaving the parking space, the controller may switch on the camera lens4 and the supplement light 5. The camera lens 4 may record vehicleinformation under the illumination of the supplement light 5.

In one aspect, the ultrasonic probe 6 uses ultrasonic waves to monitorthe state of the parking space, which is not affected by the ambientlight, making a more accurate determination of the parking space state.In another aspect, the camera lens 4 and the supplement light 5 isswitchable according the change in the occupation state of the parkingstate monitored by the ultrasonic probe 6. When the ultrasonic probe 6detects that the vehicle may be entering or leaving the parking space,the controller starts the camera lens 4 and supplement light 5, both ofwhich may otherwise be in a closed state, improving the efficiency ofthe surveillance device.

The connector 3 may connect the mounting housing 2 to the support bar 1.The connector 3 may be disposed to face a certain threaded hole 11 onthe support bar 1, according to specific application scenarios. Bychanging the threaded hole 11 which the connector 3 faces, the facingdirection of the mounting housing 2, and thus the facing direction ofthe camera lens 4 and the ultrasonic probe 6 mounted on the mountinghousing 2 may be adjusted. In some embodiments, due to the fact that thefacing direction of the camera lanes may be adjusted after the installof the support bar 1 is completed, the support bar 1 may be installed onthe ground in a relatively simplified manner in which there is no needto consider whether the facing direction of the camera lens is in apre-defined direction. In some embodiments, after the surveillancedevice is installed, whenever there is a need to adjust the facingdirection of the camera lens 4, one can simply open the screw connectingthe connector 3 and the support bar 1 and adjust the facing direction ofthe camera lens 4 accordingly. The adjustment process may be relativelyconvenient.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, the mounting housing 2 includes a frontmounting housing 21 (or referred to as a front housing) for mounting thecamera lens 4, the supplement light 5 and the ultrasonic probe 6, a rearmounting housing 22 (or referred to as a rear housing), and a sealdiaphragm 23 arranged between the front mounting housing 21 and the rearmounting housing 22. In some embodiments, a front seal washer (orreferred to as a first seal washer) may be provided between the sealdiaphragm 23 and the front mounting housing 21.

In some embodiments, when the camera lens 4, the supplement light 5 andthe ultrasonic probe 6 are mounted on the front mounting housing 21, anda front seal washer is provided between the seal diaphragm 23 and thefront mounting housing 21, the camera lens 4, the supplement light 5 andthe ultrasonic probe 6 may be sealed in the cavity formed between thefront mounting housing 21 and the seal diaphragm 23, protecting thesurveillance device from contamination and/or damage of moisture, dust,and the like.

In some embodiments, a rear seal washer (or referred to as a second sealwasher) may be provided between the seal diaphragm 23 and the rearmounting housing 22. The sealing diaphragm 23 may be provided withsealing washers on its both sides, which may improve the sealingproperty of the mounting housing 2 and further improve the waterproofperformance of the mounting housing 2.

Referring to FIG. 3, a cable tie 231 may be provided on one side of theseal diaphragm 23 and face the rear mounting housing 22. The cable tile231 is accommodated in a cavity that is formed between the rear mountinghousing 22 and the seal diaphragm 23. In some embodiments, the cable tie231 may be used to facilitate the connection of the cables of thesurveillance device and to make the connection more reliable.

The manner in which the connector 3 and the mounting housing 2 areconnected may be not limited. For example, the connector 3 and themounting housing 2 may be connected through welding, riveting, or thelike, or any combination thereof. Technicians may also design otherconnection manners according to specific application scenario. In someembodiments, the connector 3 may be fixed to the mounting housing 2, andtherefore, the mounting housing 2 may be integrally rotatable with theconnector 3 with respect to the support bar 1.

In some embodiments, the connector 3 and the mounting housing 2 may beconnected through a screw. Referring to FIG. 6, the connector 3 includesa screw mounting hole 32 into which a screw may be inserted. Theconnector 3 and the mounting housing 2 may be fixed together byinserting a screw through the screw mounting hole 32 and a correspondingmounting hole of the mounting housing 2. The fact that the connector 3and the mounting housing 2 being fixed through a screw may facilitatethe disassembly and assembly therebetween, and the connection stabilitytherebetween may be relatively good.

Referring to FIG. 1, the mounting housing 2 may also include anindicator 7. The indicator 7 may be configured to indicate the occupiedstate of the parking space. In some embodiments, the indicator 7 mayinclude two indicators or three indicators. For example, the indicator 7includes two indicators, a red indicator and a green indicator. Whenthere is no car parking in the parking space, the green indicator may bepowered on. When there is a car parking in the parking space, the redindicator may be powered on. As a result, it may be available for thedrivers to identify an unoccupied parking space at a remote locationbased on the indicator (e.g., the color of the indicator).

Referring to FIG. 4, an end of the support bar 1 facing away from themounting house 2 may include a mount 8. The mount 8 may include aplurality of through-holes 81. When installing a surveillance device, itmay be necessary to establish a mounting base and then install thesurveillance device on the mounting base. In some embodiments of thepresent disclosure, the mount 8 may be mounted on the mounting base sothat the support bar 1 may be firmly mounted on the ground. In someembodiments, the mount 8 may be fixed by inserting a rivet or a boltthrough the through-holes.

Apart from the surveillance device as illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 6,the present disclosure also provides a surveillance device having astructure as illustrated in FIG. 8 to FIG. 17. Compared to the existingsurveillance device whose structure may be illustrated in FIG. 7, thesurveillance device provided in the present disclosure may have a camerawith an opening formed in its housing. The facing angle of the cameralens located inside the housing may be adjusted in a relativelyconvenient manner through the opening. In some embodiments, thesurveillance device may be used to monitor a parking space. Thus, thesurveillance device may be referred to as a parking space detector(e.g., a camera).

FIG. 7 is structure diagram illustrating a camera in the prior art. Theparking space detector is a security monitoring device that is appliedin the intelligent parking lot management system to realize the parkingspace guiding and car finding functions of the intelligent parking lot.When monitoring a single-sided parking space, a monocular camera similarto that shown in FIG. 1 is often employed. As shown in FIG. 7, themonocular camera is generally provided with, from top to bottom, acamera cover 10, a transparent ring 20, a transparent housing fixingbase 30, a camera lens assembly 40, and a transparent lens housing 50.The transparent ring 20 may be made of translucent acryliclight-homogenizing material, and an indicator board may be locatedinside the transparent ring 20. When a lamp bead on the indicator boardchanges its illumination color, the change may be presented through thetransparent ring 20. The transparent housing fixing base 30 may be usedfor fixedly connecting the fixed transparent lens housing 50. The cameralens assembly 40 is located directly below the transparent ring 20 andis enveloped by the transparent lens housing 50.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the above-mentioned monocular camera, the lensangle of the camera lens assembly 40 is usually a preset angledetermined at the time of shipment, and generally needs to be adjustedaccording to actual monitoring requirements. To adjust the lens angle,it is necessary to disassemble the transparent lens housing 50. Afteradjusting the lens angle, it is necessary to reassemble the transparentlens housing 50, which is inconvenient. Therefore, existing assemblyprocess of the existing parking space detector is often troublesome.

The present disclosure provides a camera as illustrated in FIG. 8 toFIG. 17.

As shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, FIG. 14, FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, a cameraincludes a cylindrical camera housing 120 having an opening on the wallof the camera housing 120, and a camera lens assembly 220 installed inthe camera housing 120 and disposed facing the opening of the camerahousing 120.

The camera housing 120 may protect the camera lens assembly 220.Moreover, an opening is provided on the wall of the camera housing. Thecamera lens assembly faces the window setting. The lens component of thecamera lens assembly 220 may film and monitor the outside scenariothrough the window. In some embodiments, the lens angle of the cameralens assembly 40 may be adjusted by changing the position of the window.Therefore, the process for adjusting the lens angle of the camera lensassembly 220, as well as the assembly process of the camera isrelatively convenient.

As shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 12, the camera may further include anindicator board that is arranged on one side of the bottom wall 1120 ofthe camera. An indicator is mounted on the side of the indicator boardfacing away from the camera housing 120 of the camera. The camera mayfurther include an indicator cover that is disposed on the side of theindicator board facing away from the camera housing 120.

In some embodiments, more than one indicator is collectively arranged onthe side of the bottom wall 1120 facing away from the camera housing120. Therefore, the illumination of the more than one indicator is moreconcentrated. The indication effect is more visible, and the number ofthe required beads in one indicator is less, which effectively reducesthe power consumption and heat dissipation requirement of the wholecamera.

As shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, FIG. 14 and FIG. 16 to FIG. 17, a lenswindow 520 may be installed before the opening formed on the wall of thecamera housing 120 (or referred to as the side wall of the camerahousing 120). In some embodiments, the lens window 520 is made oftransparent material.

The lens window 520 may be closed when no lens adjustment is required,so as to protect the camera lens assembly 220. Since the lens window 520is transparent, it may allow light to pass without affecting the workingof the camera lens assembly 220. In addition, if the lens adjustment isrequired, the lens window 520 may be opened, and then an angleadjustment operation is performed through the lens window 520. The angleadjustment process of the camera is more convenient than theconventional camera, which requires the lens housing to be unscrewed forangle adjustment.

As shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, FIG. 14 and FIG. 16, and FIG. 17, thelens window 520 is slidable along the wall of the camera housing 120 tochange between an open status and a closed status. The operation ofopening and closing the lens window 520 is very convenient. Therefore,the entire process of lens adjustment may be significantly facilitated,so that the lens angle of the camera may be adjusted at any time ifneeded.

As shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 14 to FIG. 17, the camera housing 120 isprovided with a sliding rail 620 extending in the circumferentialdirection of the cameral housing 120. The lens window 520 is slidablealong the sliding rail 620. Specifically, when the lens window 520slides toward the closed status, the opening formed on the wall of thecamera housing 120 may be closed, and when the lens window 520 slidestoward the open status, the window opening formed on the wall of thecamera housing 120 may be opened. The open status and closed status maybe referred to as a first state and a second state, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 14, when the lens window 520 slides to the first end 61of the sliding rail 620, the lens window 520 may be in the close status.

Further, when the lens window 520 slides to the second end 62 of thesliding rail 620, the lens window 520 may be in the open status.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 14 to FIG. 17, a bucklestructure may also be provided between the lens window 520 and thesliding rail 620 for ensuring the stability of the lens window 520 andthe sliding rail 620 in the second state.

In some embodiments, the buckle structure may be implemented in thefollowing method. As shown in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17, the sliding rail 620is provided with a hook 51. The lens window 520 is provided with agrooved portion 63 to be engaged with the hook 51. When the lens window520 slides to the first end 61 of the sliding rail 620, the hook 51engages with the grooved portion 63 to lock the lens window 520 in thesecond state.

The lens window 520 may be further provided with a leading plane 52 forguiding the hook 51 into the grooved portion 63. The leading plane 52 islocated on the side of the grooved portion 63 facing the first end 61 ofthe sliding rail 620. That is, when the lens window 520 slides towardthe first end 61 of the sliding rail 620, the leading plane 52 may firstcome into contact with the hook 51, and may gradually guide the hook 51to the grooved portion 63 until the engagement of the hook 51 with thegrooved portion 63 is achieved.

As shown in FIG. 15 to FIG. 17, an elastic arm 64 may be formed on theinner side of the sliding rail 620, and the elastic arm 64 is disposedalong the extension direction of the sliding rail 620. The hook 51 isformed at one end of the elastic arm 64 toward the first end 61 of thesliding rail 620. After the leading plane 52 on the lens window 520contacts the hook 51, the elastic arm 64 may gradually deform as thehook 51 slides along the leading plane 52 until the hook 51 is engagedwith the grooved portion 63. When the grooved portion 63 is at theposition, the elastic arm 64 may retain deformed. At the same time, thehook 51 at the end thereof may rebind into the grooved portion 63,thereby locking with the grooved portion 63.

As shown in FIG. 14 to FIG. 17, the hook 51 may be disposed at the firstend 61 of the sliding rail 620. Correspondingly, the grooved portion 63is disposed on the side of the lens window 520 facing the first end 61of the sliding rail 620.

As shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 11 and FIG. 13, the camera may further includea lens assembly holder 720. The lens assembly holder 720 is fixedlymounted to the bottom wall 1120 of the camera housing 120. Preferably,the lens assembly holder 720 may be fixedly mounted to the bottom wall1120 of the camera housing 120 by a bolt 8120. Further, the camera lensassembly 220 is mounted on the lens assembly holder 720.

As shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 11 to FIG. 13, the camera lens assembly 220 isspherical.

Further, tAs shown in FIG. 13, the lens assembly holder 720 is providedwith a spherical cavity 71 matched with the camera lens assembly 220.The camera lens assembly 220 is mounted in the spherical cavity 71 andis rotable with respect to the spherical cavity 71.

As shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 11 to FIG. 13, a damping structure may befurther provided on the inner side of the spherical cavity 71. Forexample, the damping foam is attached to increase the friction betweenthe spherical cavity 71 and the camera lens assembly 220 to prevent thespherical cavity 71 from rotating under the condition of non-humanintervention. For example, it is possible to prevent the spherical lensunit 220 from rotating when the camera is subjected to an accidentalvibration to cause an angle change of the camera lens assembly 220.

As shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, the indicator cover may include anindicator board frame 320 mounted on the bottom wall 1120 of the camerahousing 120 and a transparent cover 420 mounted on the indicator boardframe 320. The transparent cover 420 may be a hemispherical uniformmaterial which may improve the uniformity of the indicating light andimprove the indication effect.

As shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, the transparent cover 420 and the lampholder 320 may be connected by a buckle.

Further, the indicator board frame 320 and the bottom wall 1120 of thecamera housing 120 may also be connected by the buckle.

As shown in FIG. 8 to FIG. 10, the camera may further include a cameracover 10 mounted on the top of the camera housing 120.

In some embodiments, the camera cover 10 and the camera housing 120 maybe fixedly connected by one or more bolts 82.

In some embodiments, the top of the camera cover 10 has a cylindricalmounting part 91. The fixing portion 91 is provided with an externalthread, which may be used for mounting the camera to an external device.

In the existing parking position detector products, when it is requiredto meet the scene requirements of monitoring two-side symmetric parkingspaces or multiple parking spaces, a form similar to the binocularcamera shown in FIG. 18 is often used. As shown in FIG. 18, an existingbinocular camera includes, from top to bottom, a camera cover 1030, atransparent indicator ring 2030, a transparent housing fixing base 3030,two camera lens assemblies 4030, and two lens transparent housings 5030.Since both lens assemblies 4030 are arranged at the bottom of thetransparent indicator ring 2030, and the outside of the two lensassemblies 4030 are covered with the transparent housing 5030, theadjustable range of the facing angles of the two lens assemblies 4030 issmall, and the adjustment process also needs to disassemble the twotransparent housing 5030, which is very inconvenient. Therefore, it isdesirable to provide a binocular parking space detector to meet theneeds of different parking space scene monitoring in a parking lot. Asused herein, the angle between two lens assemblies may refer to theangle between the facing directions of the two lens assemblies.

The present disclosure discloses a multi-directional camera for solvingthe problem that the adjustment range for the angle between the facingangles of the two cameras is small and that the angle adjustment processis inconvenient.

As shown in FIG. 19, FIG. 20, and FIG. 25 to FIG. 28, amulti-directional camera according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure includes at least two camera modules 130.

Each of the at least two camera modules 130 includes a housing 1130 anda camera lens assembly 12 mounted in the housing 1130. The housing 1130of each camera module 130 has the shape of a cylinder. An opening isprovided on the wall of the housing 1130. The housings 1130 of the atleast two camera modules 130 share a same axis o. The at least twocamera modules 130 are sequentially arranged along the shaft axis o, andany two adjacent camera modules 130 are rotatable about the shaft axiso, respectively.

In some embodiments, by driving a relative rotation between the cameramodules, the relative position between the camera lens assemblies in thecamera modules in the horizontal direction (i.e., the direction which isperpendicular to the direction of the shaft axis o) can be adjusted. Thehousing 1130 of each camera module 130 has an opening provided on thecylinder wall. The camera lens assembly 130 of each camera module 130may film and monitor the outside scenario through the opening. Due tothe fact that the relative position between the camera lens assembliesin the camera modules may be adjusted, the facing angle of each cameralens assembly and the position of each opening can be further adjusted.

The multi-directional camera provided according to some embodiments ofthe present disclosure can rotate the camera module 130 in thehorizontal direction, which performs the angle adjustment of each cameralens assembly 12 in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, thecamera lens assembly 12 can be directly adjusted in the horizontaland/or the vertical direction (i.e., the direction which is parallel tothe direction of the shaft axis o). Therefore, the lens angle adjustmentrange of the multi-directional camera is broad, and the adjustmentprocess is very convenient. Furthermore, the multi-directional cameracan be used for parking space detection, and can well meet themonitoring requirements of different parking space scenes.

As shown in FIG. 20 to FIG. 26, in the multi-directional camera providedaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure, each adjacenttwo camera modules 130 may be connected by a switching module.Specifically, as shown in FIG. 21 to FIG. 24, the switching module mayinclude a two-part structure of the adapter plate 230 and the switchingshaft 330. The adapter plate 230 is provided with an opening 2130. Theswitching shaft 330 includes a shaft component 3130 and a disc component3230 connected to the first end of the shaft component 3130. The shaftcomponent 3130 is arranged through the opening 2130 of the adapter plate230, and the diameter of the disc component 3230 is larger than thediameter of the opening 2130 of the adapter plate 230, so that the disccomponent 3230 of the adapter plate 230 can be limited below theswitching shaft 330. Further, the switching shaft 330 and the adapterplate 230 are relatively rotatable about the shaft axis o1 of the shaftcomponent 3130. Specifically, the shaft axis o1 of the shaft component3130 coincides with the shaft axis o of the housing 1130 of the cameramodule 130. Further, by connecting the adjacent two camera modules 130to the adapter plate 230 and the switching shaft 330, respectively, therotational connection between the adjacent two camera modules 130 can beachieved.

As shown in FIG. 21 to FIG. 24, in order to prevent the adapter plate230 and the switching shaft 330 from being separated from each otherduring assembly of the camera module 130, a buckle structure may befurther arranged between the adapter plate 230 and the switching shaft330 so as to relatively fix the plate 230 and the switching shaft 330.In some embodiments, the adapter plate 230 is provided with a hook 2230on the side facing the disc component 3230. Correspondingly, the side ofthe disc component 3230 facing away from the adapter plate 230 isprovided with a grooved portion to be engaged with the hook 2230.

As shown in FIG. 21 to FIG. 24, the grooved portion provided on the disccomponent 3230 may be a ring groove 321 arranged along the peripheral ofthe disc component 3230. Further, the adapter plate 230 is provided witha plurality of hooks 2230. In some embodiments, the plurality of hooks2230 are elastic hooks. The plurality of hooks 2230 may be evenly orunevenly distributed along the peripheral of the disc component 3230,and each of the plurality of hooks 2230 may buckle the ring groove 321of the disc component 3230. The buckle connection between the hooks 2230and the ring groove 321 do not affect the relative rotational movementbetween the adapter plate 230 and the switching shaft 330.

As shown in FIG. 4, by the above embodiments, in some embodiments, thedisc component 3230 and the adapter plate 230 may also be provided witha damping strip 430. In some embodiments, the damping strip 430 is asilicone damping strip.

The damping strip 430 can increase the sliding friction between the disccomponent 3230 and the adapter plate 230 so that relative rotation ofthe adjacent two camera modules under non-human intervention can beavoided.

As shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 24, the side of the disc component 3230facing the adapter plate 230 is provided with a plurality ofstrip-shaped mounting grooves 322 surrounding the shaft component 3130,and the damping strip 430 is mounted inside one of the mounting grooves322.

In some embodiments, in any two adjacent camera modules, the cameramodule near the top side of the at least two camera modules (e.g., thetop of the first camera module) is a first camera module, and the cameranear the bottom end side of the at least two camera modules (i.e. thebottom of the last camera module) is a second camera module. The housingof the first camera module is fixedly connected to the shaft componentof the switching shaft. The housing of the second camera module isfixedly connected to the adapter plate. Taking the multi-aspect cameraprovided according to some embodiments of the present disclosureincluding two camera modules as an example, as shown in FIG. 19 to FIG.20, FIG. 25 to FIG. 26, the first camera module 101 is located at theupper portion, and the housing 1130 is connected to the shaft component2130 of the switching shaft 330. Correspondingly, the second cameramodule 102 is located at the lower portion and the housing 1130 isfixedly connected to the adapter plate 230.

Furthermore, when the multi-aspect camera provided according to someembodiments of the present disclosure includes a plurality of cameramodules, it functions as a first camera module when each camera moduleis connected correspondingly to a camera module adjacent to its bottom.It functions as a second camera module when the camera module isconnected correspondingly to a camera module adjacent to the topthereof. Therefore, the settings of the top and bottom structures of allcamera modules need to be consistent. Therefore, preferably, the housingstructure of each camera module can be set to be identical, i.e. thecamera module can be designed as a universal module.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 27 and FIG. 28, the housing 1130of the camera module 130 may only include a cylinder wall and a bottomwall 111, and the camera lens assembly 12 is fixed on the bottom wall111 of the housing 1130.

Further, as shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, a camera cover 530 is providedwith a fixing portion 5130 for fixing the entire multi-directionalcamera to other structures, such as the mounting plate 630.Specifically, the fixing portion 5130 is provided with an externalthread, and the fixing portion 5130 passes through the mounting hole ofthe mounting plate 630 when installed. After the multi-directionalcamera is adjusted to an appropriate angle, the fixing portion 5130 andthe mounting plate 630 are locked by the fixing nut 6130.

As shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 24 to FIG. 26, the mounting hole 311 may bemounted on the second end of the shaft component 3130 of the switchingshaft 330 in the switching module. Therefore, the housing 1130 of thefirst camera module 101 and the shaft component 3130 of the switchingshaft 330 can be fixedly connected by an engaging mechanism insertedinto the mounting hole 311. Specifically, the engaging mechanism may bea bolt.

As shown in FIG. 22 to FIG. 23, the adapter plate 230 may be providedwith a through hole 2330. The housing 1130 of the second camera module102 and the adapter plate 230 can be fixedly connected by an engagingmechanism inserted into the through hole 2330. Specifically, theengaging mechanism may be a bolt.

As shown in FIG. 21, FIG. 22, FIG. 25 and FIG. 27, a position-limitingmechanism 2430 is arranged on the side of the adapter plate 230 facingthe first camera module 101. The housing 1130 of the first camera module101 facing the adapter plate 230 (i.e., the outer side of the bottomwall 111 of the camera module 13) is provided with a stopper 112corresponding to the limiting structure 2430. When the first cameramodule 101 and the adapter plate 230 are rotated to a particularposition, the limiting structure 2430 and the stopper 112 can lock eachother from movement when they come into contact. That is, when the firstcamera module 101 and the second camera module 102 are rotated to aparticular position, the limiting structure 2430 and the stopper 112 maycontact each other. Thereby, the first camera module 101 and the secondcamera module 102 can be stopped from rotating with respect to eachother. Further, it is possible to prevent the relative rotation anglesof the adjacent two camera modules 130 from being excessively large, sothat the internal cables connected to the two camera modules 130 can beprevented from being entangled.

As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the multi-directional camera mayfurther include an indicator board 730 mounted on a bottom wall of atleast two camera modules 130. The indicator board 730 is provided withindicator. An indicator board supporting structure such as an indicatorboard frame 830 may be arranged on the side of the indicator board 730away from the at least two camera modules 130, and a transparentindicator cover 930 may be mounted on the indicator board frame 830.Further, the multi-directional camera may also have an instructingfunction and can realize a parking space guiding function when used forparking space detection.

As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the indicator board frame 830 ismounted on the housing 1130 of the bottommost camera module 130, and theindicator board frame 830 is connected to the housing 1130 of thebottommost camera module 130 through a buckle.

Further, the transparent indicator cover 930 and the indicator boardframe 830 may also be connected by a buckle.

As shown in FIG. 19, FIG. 20 and FIG. 27, in each camera module 130, alens window 13 that can open and close the opening mounted on the wallof the housing 1130 is provided. The lens window 13 is made of atransparent material.

The angle of the camera lens assembly 12 located in the housing 1130 canbe adjusted through the opening on the housing 1130. If the angleadjustment of the camera lens assembly 12 is not needed, the opening canbe closed by the lens window 13 to protect the camera lens assembly 12.Since the lens window 13 is transparent, it can allow light to paswithout affecting the working of the camera lens assembly 12.

As shown in FIG. 19, FIG. 20 and FIG. 27, the lens window 13 can slidealong the wall of the housing 1130 to open or close the opening. Thecylinder wall of the housing is provided with a sliding rail extendingalong a circumferential direction thereof. The lens window 13 isslidably mounted on the housing 1130 along the slide rails. Further,when the lens window 13 is slided to the opening, the opening can beclosed, and when the lens window is slided to the opening, the openingcan be opened.

As shown in FIG. 19, FIG. 20 and FIG. 27, a buckle structure may also beprovided between the lens window 13 and the slide rail for allowing thelens window 13 to remain stable in the close status.

As shown in FIG. 28, the camera module 130 may further include a fixingframe 14 of the camera lens assembly 12. The fixing frame 14 of thecamera lens assembly 14 is fixedly mounted on the bottom wall 111 of thehousing 130 of the camera module 130. The camera lens assembly 12 ismounted on the fixing frame 14 of the camera lens assembly 12.

As shown in FIG. 28, the camera lens assembly 12 is spherical. Thefixing frame 14 of the camera lens assembly 12 is provided with aspherical cavity 141 matched with the camera lens assembly 12. Thecamera lens assembly 12 is mounted within the spherical cavity 141 andis rollable with respect to the spherical cavity 141.

Further, a damping structure may be provided on the inner side of thespherical cavity 141. For example, the damping foam may be attached tothe inner side of the spherical cavity 141 to increase the frictionbetween the spherical cavity 141 and the camera lens assembly 12 toprevent the camera lens assembly 12 from rotating under non-humanintervention. For example, it is possible to prevent the camera lensassembly 12 from rotating when the parking space detector is subjectedto an accidental vibration to cause an angle change.

It should be noted that the multi-directional camera provided accordingto some embodiments of the present disclosure may include two cameramodules, and may also include multiple camera modules. Moreover, themulti-directional camera may adjust the monitoring direction of the lensaccording to specific scenarios. The adjustment range is vast, and theadjustment process can be realized without any tools. Themulti-directional camera has a wide range of use, and is particularlysuitable as a parking space detector for monitoring a scene with adouble-side parking space or a plurality of parking spaces.

It should be appreciated that in the foregoing description ofembodiments of the present disclosure, various features are sometimesgrouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereoffor the purposes of streamlining the disclosure aiding in theunderstanding of one or more of the various inventive embodiments. Thismethod of disclosure, however, may be not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed subject matter requires morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, inventiveembodiments lie in less than all features of a single foregoingdisclosed embodiment.

In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities or propertiesused to describe and claim certain embodiments of the application are tobe understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about,”“approximate,” or “substantially.” For example, “about,” “approximate,”or “substantially” may indicate ±20% variation of the value itdescribes, unless otherwise stated. Accordingly, in some embodiments,the numerical parameters set forth in the written description andattached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon thedesired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. Insome embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in lightof the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinaryrounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges andparameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of theapplication are approximations, the numerical values set forth in thespecific examples are reported as precisely as practicable.

Each of the patents, patent applications, publications of patentapplications, and other material, such as articles, books,specifications, publications, documents, things, and/or the like,referenced herein may be hereby incorporated herein by this reference inits entirety for all purposes, excepting any prosecution file historyassociated with same, any of same that may be inconsistent with or inconflict with the present document, or any of same that may have alimiting affect as to the broadest scope of the claims now or laterassociated with the present document. By way of example, should there beany inconsistency or conflict between the description, definition,and/or the use of a term associated with any of the incorporatedmaterial and that associated with the present document, the description,definition, and/or the use of the term in the present document shallprevail.

In closing, it is to be understood that the embodiments of theapplication disclosed herein are illustrative of the principles of theembodiments of the application. Other modifications that may be employedmay be within the scope of the application. Thus, by way of example, butnot of limitation, alternative configurations of the embodiments of theapplication may be utilized in accordance with the teachings herein.Accordingly, embodiments of the present application are not limited tothat precisely as shown and describe.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device, comprising: a first camera which isrotatable around a first axis; and a second camera which is rotatablearound a second axis; wherein the first axis is in a direction of thesecond axis.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the first axis isparallel to the second axis.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the firstaxis is the same as the second axis.
 4. The device of claim 3, whereinthe first camera and the second camera are respectively rotatable aroundthe first axis.
 5. The device of claim 4, wherein: the first camera hasa first camera housing and a first lens assembly arranged in the firstcamera housing; and the second camera has a second camera housing and asecond lens assembly arranged in the second camera housing, wherein atleast one of the first camera housing or the second camera housingincludes a window.
 6. The device of claim 5, wherein at least oneopening is mounted on a wall of at least one of the first camera housingor the second camera housing, at least one slide rail is mounted on thewall of at least one of the first camera housing or the second camerahousing, wherein the window on the first camera housing or the secondcamera housing slidably moves along the at least one slide rail to openor close the at least one opening.
 7. The device of claim 5, wherein atleast one of the first camera or the second camera includes a fixingframe, and the fixing frame is fixedly mounted on a bottom wall of atleast one of the first camera housing or the second camera housing. 8.The device of claim 4, wherein the first camera and the second cameraare interconnected through a connecting module comprising: a switchingboard with an opening thereon; and a switching shaft comprising a shaftcomponent and a disc component connected to the shaft component, whereinthe shaft component goes through the opening, and the shaft component isrotatable with respect to the switching board around an axis of theshaft component.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein the first camera isfixedly connected with the shaft component of the switching shaft, andthe second camera is fixedly connected with the switching board.
 10. Thedevice of claim 8, wherein the switching board is provided with at leastone hook on a side facing the disc component, and a side of the disccomponent facing away from the switching board is provided with agrooved portion to be engaged with the at least one hook.
 11. The deviceof claim 10, wherein the grooved portion provided on the disc componentis a ring groove arranged along a peripheral of the disc component, andthe at least one hook is evenly distributed along the peripheral of thedisc component.
 12. The device of claim 8, wherein the disc componentand the switching board are provided with a damping strip.
 13. Thedevice of claim 12, wherein a side of the disc component facing theswitching board is provided with a plurality of strip-shaped mountinggrooves surrounding the shaft component, and the damping strip ismounted inside one of the mounting grooves.
 14. The device of claim 8,wherein a mounting hole is mounted on one end of the shaft component,and the first camera housing and the shaft component of the switchingshaft are fixedly connected by an engaging mechanism inserted into themounting hole.
 15. The device of claim 8, wherein a through hole is seton the switching board, and the second camera housing and the switchingboard are fixedly connected by an engaging mechanism inserted into thethrough hole.
 16. The device of claim 8, wherein a position-limitingstructure is arranged on a side of the switching board facing the firstcamera, and the first camera facing the switching board is provided witha stopper corresponding to the position-limiting structure.
 17. Thedevice of claim 16, wherein when the first camera and the switchingboard are rotated to a particular position, the position-limitingstructure and the stopper lock each other from movement when they comeinto contact.
 18. The device of claim 1, further comprising: anindicator board mounted on a bottom wall of the device, an indicatorboard frame arranged on a side of the indicator board away from thedevice, and a transparent indicator cover mounted on the indicator boardframe.
 19. The device of claim 18, wherein the transparent indicatorcover and the indicator board frame are connected by a buckle.